Cuca-apple Salad

Cuca-apple  Salad

This is a nice quick salad. Easy to throw together and different from you normal.

6 Mini Cucumbers
1 cup of diced Tomatoes (fresh)
2 rings of Pineapple ( fresh is best)
1 handful of Mint (fresh)
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp Chia seeds





Chop up the fruit and veggies and place them in a bowl. Dice up the mint and add it to the bowl. Top with balsimic vinegar and chia seeds. toss. Place in the fridge for about 1/2 an hour to let all the flavour mingle. Toss again and serve.

Servings for approximatley 3 people

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

So yummy and so good for you. There are times when you are changing your diet and things get hard. You don't know what to do or how to stay on track.

Trying to find good easy healthy things to make can be a challenge. Enter Spaghetti Squash. I really like it for it's versatility, an awesome sub for pasta as well. With this recipe it was quite simple and you can change it for what is in your fridge.

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

1 Spaghetti Squash 

1/2 beet grated

1 carrot

1 avocado

1 cup artichoke pieces

1/4 onion

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Take the squash and cut it n half and scoop out the seeds and goop.Pleace them on a baking sheet, insides up. Lay the beet around the inside of the squash. Take the rest of the vegetables and lightly saute them. Then place them evenly in each squash half. Place in oven and cook for approximately 30 minutes, or till squash is soft and pokeable.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. scoop out and serve. Top with hemp hearts for added protein :)

stuffed squash with kale chips and walnut"meat"

A little Vegan Sex in a Dish

The other day I was poking around on some blogs and I found this little gem. Vegan Sex sounds super yummy to me so I figured I had noting to lose with trying it. Due to the fact that following recipes is not really my forte I took a few liberties. This is the second go at it. We tried the lemon first and it was too strong and because I was out of lemon but had a lime we used that and OMG!

Ingredients

1-2 roasted sweet potato/ yam ( depending on where you are they are called different things, the orange one!)
1 lime juiced
1/2 cup quinoa
10 cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 avocado
Salt & pepper


Preheat the oven to 425 and place the pierced sweet potato/yam on a baking sheet. ( trust me on this on I just put it on the rake and it oozed and burnt and smelled like burnt marshmellows)
Cook the half a cup of quinoa according to package ( usually a 2:1, so full cup of water for this) Chop up the cucumbers and tomatoes into bite sized pieces and set aside. Take the avocado  lime juice and slat and pepper and blend together to make a nice creamy bunch of deliciousness  :) Once the sweet potato / yam is roasted.,about an hour or so depending on the size. ( we had a giant one on steroids ) Remove the skin and mash it up, feel free to add butter if you you feel the need but we didn't. Take cooked quinoa and add the cucumber and tomatoes and mix. Next put some sweet potato/ yam on a plate top with the quinoa salad and then the avocado dressing. Pair with a yummy salada and there you go. Enjoy!

Serving ~ 4-5 people

Peanut Butter Protein Nibblies

This is one of my recipe conversions to healthify a recipe that I saw that had a good basic idea. I took it made it my own and changed the name.

Peanut Butter Protein Bars

1/2 cup  brown sugar  Coconut Sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter --> please use just peanut nut or a natural nut butter, the only ingredient should be nuts!)
1/4 cup soy or regular milk Nut milk ( I used almond)
1/4 cup honey/ molasses -->I used both 3 tbsp each
3/4  1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour Almond meal
3/4 cup oats
1/2 tsp baking soda 
2 3 tbsp canola oil Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1 tsp vanilla --> once again check your ingredient it should just be extract & maybe a bit of sugar
pinch of salt --> use real  salt ( sea salt or Himalayan salt) not table salt

Additional Add-in options
Flax, chia seed, sunflower seeds, chopped nuts, dark chocolate, coconut &/or dried fruit.


Blend all the wet ingredients together and then add the dry ingredients.

Now you have two options

•  you can bake it in an oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. To do this lay it out on a pan lined with parchment paper, Squish flat with your hands trying to make it even. 
• Or you can roll it into little balls and refrigerate or freeze them. leaving them raw is really good!!

Raw. Personally like this way better, more flavor and you don't lose any thing due to cooking

Baked. Still very yummy and loved by the boys

Sassy water.......?

Looking for a way to perk up those 8 glasses of water that you should be drinking every day? Look no further…I present to you Sassy Water! Not only is it tasty, but sassy water is touted as a way to help you shed some extra pounds around your midsection by eliminating a buildup of contaminants, fat, and excess water weight.

You Will Need:
{8 ½} cups water
{1} teaspoon grated ginger
{1} medium cucumber, sliced thin
{1} large lemon, sliced thin
{12} mint leaves

Mix all ingredients together in a pitcher and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, strain and drink all 8 ½ cups throughout the day.

Why it works: Cucumber is natural diuretic, and helps the body release stored excess water. Ginger boosts metabolism and helps calm and soothe your GI tract.

Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies ~~~~ Gluten and Dairy Free

sorry for the blurry picture these were the last ones

Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies

 ~~~~ Gluten, Dairy & Egg Free ~~~~

1 cup coconut butter

1 ripe banana

1 apple made into apple sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp Vanilla

3/4 cup cocoa ( good quality)

2 1/2 cup Almond Flour (meal)

1/2 cup chocolate morsels ( dairy free)

1/2 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Blend the coconut butter, banana and apple sauce still smooth. Add sugar, honey and vanilla. Once it is all blended add the cocoa till all moist. Add the almond flour, if the consistency doesn't seem quite right add another half cup of almond flour. once it is all mixed together add chocolate morsels and cherries. you can either spoon and drop the cookies or roll into balls and press flat. cook for about 12-15 minutes in the oven. Yields approximately 3 dozen

Homemade Almond MIlk

Most people I know are always looking for dairy alternatives and ways to save money.

I have found that making my own almond milk is so easy and super beneficial

Home made Almond Milk

1 cup of almonds

5 cups of filtered water

 2 tsp maple syrup or vanilla

nut bag or cheese cloth

strainer

Blender

Take the cup of almonds and soak them for 12 - 24 hours preferred  if you need them sooner try to go at least 4 .  Then strain them to get the soaking water off and rinse them. In a blender place 5 cups of filtered water, add the almond and maple syrup or vanilla. blend until there are not chunks of almonds and everything looks smooth. Pour into either a nut bag or a strainer with a cheese cloth, straining the milk into a bowl. Keep the almond meal ! you can dry it out.  Separate into bottles and refrigerate. makes about 1 liter.

Take your Almond meal and place in on a stone or parchment lined pan and place it in a low over. ( 200) for a good 4-5 hours till it dries out. Makes for a wonderful flour substitution in many baked goods.

my jar of Almond meal

On a side note I know some people blanch their almonds first so that is an option but I don't. Don't even know how to

.

Chocolate Caramel Crunchies

Chocolate Caramel Crunchies ( homemade Skor)

I love Skor bars. the caramel and chocolate.. so yummy. Here is a lovely homemade recipe that I love to make because it is so easy 

1 cup of real butter

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of chocolate chips

1 sleeve of saltines ( salted tops)

Pre heat over to 400 F. In a medium pot melt the butter, add the brown sugar to the melted butter. Bring to a low boil till it is thoroughly mixed. 

While the butter is melting lay out the saltines salted side up on a cookie sheet.

 Once the butter/ sugar mixture is well mixed and hot. pour it over the crackers. Be careful if you get it on you it hurts A LOT! Using a spatula spread it over the cracker so they are all covered. Place it in the oven for about 5-8 minutes. keep and eye on it, burnt caramel ruins it :( It will get all bubbly all over the pan and it need to bubble for about a minute or two depending on your oven. Then remove the tray from the oven and place the chocolate chips all over it evenly, you can always add more chocolate then 1 cup. then put it back in the oven after you have turned it off but it is still hot to melt the chips. once the chips are looking all melty remove the pan use a spatula to smooth the chocolate all around and then put it in a freezer for about 2 hours for it to cool and harden. then break it into pieces and enjoy!